9/09/2009 @ 11:31PM

The Non-Public Public Option

The most important point to take from President Obamas speech is that he is seeking to very delicately but imminently distance himself from the public option on health care. I understand that he has spoken approvingly of the idea recently, and his general endorsement of it during his speech was clear and obvious.

But the more important message is that by proposing insurance exchanges for the uninsured, the President is offering an alternative to the public option that has galvanized his opponents on the right.

The White House understands that with the public option included, the health care bill is probably a non-starter and can’t get through the Congress. That being said, the President understands that he has to support it before he opposes it, and he cannot pass a health care bill without being acquiescent, if not backing, of the House Democrats. With Nancy Pelosi still being resolute in her support of a public option, it is clear that the President cant walk away anytime soon. However, with Steny Hoyer and James Claiborne indicating in the past day or so that they could live with a bill without the public option, it is very clear where this is going.

But probably as important as the Presidents speech were Max Baucus comments today that he expects to have a bill with bipartisan elements for mark up in the next week or so. Baucus was very clear not to steal the Presidents thunder, but the elements of what he has described and what the President described in his speech are very similar. Expanding coverage to virtually all the uninsured, trying to control costs and enhancing competition — all are essential elements for which there is bipartisan support and backing.

And so the President understands that the real millstone around his neck is the Democratic left, and he has got to distance himself from them as artfully as he can.

With his description of the non-public, public option, President Obama was trying to make it clear that although he shares an emotional commitment to the public option, by burying it in the insurance exchange as something that could not happen for at least four or five years, he has indicated the direction that the Administration will be heading. Similarly, with the tentative embrace of malpractice reform, and with the explicit endorsement of John McCains proposal for catastrophic coverage to be available for all Americans, President Obama did his best to demonstrate a degree of bipartisanship at least rhetorically.

A subsidiary goal, but quite important nonetheless, is making the Republicans appear unwilling to compromise. And thats why the President returned to the rhetoric of the campaign, decrying bickering, asking for bipartisanship, and indicating that his door is always open. While the President is clear that he is prepared to move away from the public option, he has equally made it clear that the time for bipartisan discussions is long gone.

The President needs to understand quite clearly that there is no alternative to passing a bill this year, even if it is not the bill that he initially wanted. While he would very much like to have legislation with more than 65 to 70 Democrats and Republicans supporting it, the Administration recognizes that this is unlikely to happen. Instead, he is targeting just a couple of Republicans, such as Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Charles Grassley.

The Administration is mindful of the fact that it needs to hold onto a number of the moderate or centrist Democrats as well. But the speech was designed to try to distant the Administration from the so-called public option. Time will tell if the effort will be a success.